For your writing assignment in this unit, you are going to write an ABSTRACT, or summary, of what has happened so far in Romeo and Juliet. In it, you will cover Acts 1-4 and choose two major events in each act to show how those events advance the plot and define the characters. To get started, flip back through the book, the answers to the questions, and notes you have taken. Make a list of important events in each act (which you will later narrow down to just two events per act.)
Once you have your preliminary brainstorming list, now ask yourself these questions about those events:
How does this event advance the plot?
How does this event add to the larger meaning of the play?
What is the mood of the event?
How do the characters' actions in this event show the reader what the character is truly like?
Use the answers to those questions to narrow your list down to two events per Act.
To write your paper, you will use those events. Each act and its two events will be explained in separate paragraphs, plus you will need an introduction and a conclusion. In all, you will have SIX paragraphs. Each Act paragraph must be at least 10 sentences long (using solid complex sentence structures when needed). The introduction and conclusion paragraphs must be at least four sentences long.
Introduction: At the end of your introduction, you need to have a thesis statement. This should outline what the paper is about. In this case, the purpose of the paper is to summarize and explain important events of the play. Make sure you use this purpose to write your thesis statement.
Paragraph structure: Each paragraph in the body of your essay should have a topic sentence, which is a sentence at the beginning to provide an overview of the content. If you're going to explain the events of Act 1 that are important, a simple topic sentence for that is, Act 1 establishes the seriousness of the play and importance of the feud between the families. My paragraph would then go on to explain two important events that I think show the seriousness and the feud.
NOTE: Please make sure to do these things in this essay:
Write in 3rd person only. Stay away from using I, me, my, your, us, our, etc. and instead use them, they, he, she, etc.
Use present tense verbs when writing about literature. Romeo wants to marry Juliet, not Romeo wanted to marry Juliet.
Include at least four quotations from the book to help prove your point. Use quoted lines (2-4 lines in length) as proof. For example: One important event is in the prologue when the audience learns that Romeo and Juliet's fate is in the stars. Because the stars aren't in line with one another, the audience knows from the beginning that they take their own lives based on a series of tragic events surrounding their parents long standing feud. This is seen in lines 4-6, "Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean./From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life". This sets the tone at the beginning, showing how tragic it will be and making the audience look how events led to their sad deaths.
Essay finished product: Paper must be at least two pages long, double spaced using 12 point Times New Roman font and preset margins. Do not waste extra lines at the top or in between paragraphs. Put your name and period number in the Header. You need to include four quotations from the book tied into your point. Each body paragraph should be at least 10 sentences long. FOLLOW THE ABOVE GUIDELINES.
Once you have your preliminary brainstorming list, now ask yourself these questions about those events:
Use the answers to those questions to narrow your list down to two events per Act.
To write your paper, you will use those events. Each act and its two events will be explained in separate paragraphs, plus you will need an introduction and a conclusion. In all, you will have SIX paragraphs. Each Act paragraph must be at least 10 sentences long (using solid complex sentence structures when needed). The introduction and conclusion paragraphs must be at least four sentences long.
Introduction: At the end of your introduction, you need to have a thesis statement. This should outline what the paper is about. In this case, the purpose of the paper is to summarize and explain important events of the play. Make sure you use this purpose to write your thesis statement.
Paragraph structure: Each paragraph in the body of your essay should have a topic sentence, which is a sentence at the beginning to provide an overview of the content. If you're going to explain the events of Act 1 that are important, a simple topic sentence for that is, Act 1 establishes the seriousness of the play and importance of the feud between the families. My paragraph would then go on to explain two important events that I think show the seriousness and the feud.
NOTE: Please make sure to do these things in this essay:
Essay finished product:
Paper must be at least two pages long, double spaced using 12 point Times New Roman font and preset margins. Do not waste extra lines at the top or in between paragraphs. Put your name and period number in the Header. You need to include four quotations from the book tied into your point. Each body paragraph should be at least 10 sentences long. FOLLOW THE ABOVE GUIDELINES.